Picker stick check for looms



Feb. '7, 1950 J. J. HEMINGWAY PICKER STICK CHECK FCR Looms F'led April 17, 1946 FIC-5.3

muvENToR JOSEPH J. HEM/NGWAY ATTORNEY shuttle or cause rebounding ofA it.

Patented Feb. 7, 1950 PICKER STICK CHECK FOR LOOMS A.loseph J.- Hemingway, Paxton, Mass., assigner to lCrompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass., a` corporation of Massachusetts Application April 17, 1946, Serial Nor 662,819 c claims. (c1. 139-169) This invention relates to improvements in picker stick checks for loomsf'and it is. thefgeneral object of the inventionto provide ai check which will apply'a varying checkingA force to a picker stick in such manner that forces` acting on the shuttle at the end of the checking operation will not tend to cause shuttle rebounding.

It is desirable that the shuttle come to rest in the shuttle box iniproperposition forl its next picking operation and-thisis additionally true in weft replenishing looms in which the shuttle must be correctly placed to receive the incoming bobbin. Various forms of checking devices have been employed, some of themacting directly on the shuttle, and others acting on the picker stick; Picker checks which have been used heretofore have been so constructed that they check the blow of the shuttle against the stick in such manner that shuttle rebound results and the misplaced shuttle is fnot correctly positioned for picking or bobbin transfer.

It is an important biect of my present invention to provide a form of shuttle checkin whicha stick engaging strap extends acrossa weighted member mounted for pivotal movement on the lay, but actinginsuch manner that its response to motion of the stick is delayed, thereby permitting a deformation of the strap to vary the checking force exerted by the strap. The strap is deformed by the stick in such a direction that the checking force increases immediately after impact by the stick and before the weighted member is. able to move. Thereafter, the weighted member moves in response to deformation of the strapl and in doing reduces the force acting on the stick tending to unseat the With these and other objects in view which appear as` the. description proceeds, my invention resides in the` combination and-arrangev.

ment of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of my invention isset forth, Fig. 1 isia rear 4elevation of the replenishing end of the loom havingmy improved `form of picker stick check applied thereto, y Fig. 2V is anenlarged rear elevation oli-the check shown inFig. l, v 1 'Y g Fig. 3 is a section on line-lof-Fig-.i 2 showing the check in two different positions, I Fig. 4 is afsection tekenen line 4--41 of Fig. 2 along the axis' around which the check swings, 5 is a-detail plan view looking in the direc@- tion of arrow E, g-thelhrace which connects the check tothe 4layt being* in section.. and

. 2. Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the changingvalues of the checking forces during operation of the Vpicker check. I Referring particularly to Fig. 1, I have shown a loom frame IU- having in the Alower' part thereof a rocker shaft I I supporting the lay swords one of which is indicatedat I2. The lay I3 has a 'shuttlebox III and in the present instance is provided with a picker spindle I5 along which slides a picker It propelled by a picker stick I1. The latter is pivoted at I8 to a rocker iron I9 secured to the rocker shaft II, and a light tension spring 2U is connected to the picker stick and to a collar 2I secured to the rocker shaft II for the purpose of moving with picker stick toward its outward position upon completion of a picker stroke.

vThe bottom shaft 25 of the loom is provided with a picking arm- 26-which periodically engages a picking cam 21 on the picker shaft 28'. A picker arm 29 extending upwardly from shaft 28 is attached to a sweep stick 30 carrying a lug strap 3Iwhich surroundsthe picker stick I1.

The shuttle S is. picked back and forth across the loom and when leaving the box I4 is pushed by the picker I6 as the latter is moved inwardly or toward the right as viewed in Fig. 1 by operation of the picking mechanism. After the picking arm 2B leaves the cam 21 spring 20 contracts to move the picker stick I1 to the left, Fig. 1, to the picker stick check to be described. When the shuttle returns to box I4 the stick is moved outwardly an additional amount as will be set forth in greater detail hereinafter.

-Since the invention is particularly useful in weft replenishing looms! have indicated in dotted lines a bobbin B to be inserted into the shuttle S by a transferrer arm 32 whenever replenish-l ment is called for and the shuttle is in box I4. It will be obvious from4 the upper part of Fig. 1 that the shuttle should be correctly placed to receive the bobbin B, but it will not be so placed vif for any reason that shuttle should rebound inv a direction toward the center of theloom, or toward the right asviewedfin Fig. 1. The lay has atrthe left end thereof asv seen in Fig. 1 a lay end 33 provided with'asmooth vertical surface 3d, see Fig. against which the picker stick can slide during the latter part of the boxing of the shuttle.

- Except as pointed out hereinafter the matter thus far described isy of common construction and operates in the usual manner. The shuttle -box may be provided withfa binder or other form of Shuttle check'not shown which willabsorb the greater part of the energy stored in the shuttle as it enters box I4, but there will nevertheless be suiiicient residual energy in the shuttle to cause it to exert considerable outward force on the picker i6 and picker stick I1.

In carrying my invention into eiect I secure to the lay a depending lbracketl 35 having a friction shell 36 from which extends laterally a bearing web 31. The picker check includes a weighted pivoted member or check arm 38, a strap 39 made conveniently of leather or similar iiexible friction material, and a spring 4l?. The check arm 38 has spaced top and bottom bearings 4l and 42, re-

.Fig 3 it will be in contact with the straight part of the strap 39 at a point, such as a, Fig. 6, and

o the forcei of the stick against the strap will be spectively, and has a wallv 43 the outer end of which remote from the bearings 4land 42 is curved as at 44.

A screw 45 extends downwardly through a col-` lar 46 inclosed within the upper bearing 4l and also extends through the sleeve 41. The lower end of screw 45 is screw threaded into a clamped support member 48 having a head 49 on which the bearing 42 rests and a cylindrical body B extending through bearing 42. When the'screw 45 is tightened it clamps the member or fitting 48 against the sleeve or collar 41 and holds the latter firmly against the web 31. When the screw 45 is in its correctly set position the bushing 46 permits free angular movement of the check arm 38.

A shell 55 extending along the cylindrical body 50 is surrounded by the lower part of the spring 40 andV has formed integral therewith an upwardly extending arm 5 sp'aced from the body and against which lthe lowerend' 51 of the spring bears. The shell rests on bearing 42 and its upper end is slightly belowsleeve 4l'. The upper end ofthe spring extends as at 56 into the sleeve 41 which is held clamped inadjusted angular position by screw 45. It is by this construction that thespring tends toturn `the shell 55 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 3.

The strap 39y has `its outer end secured as at 60 to the curved end 44 of wall 43 and has its inner end 'secured' as at v6| to the upwardly extending arm 56. The spring normally holds this strap tautand extending from the end of wall 43 to apoint of tangency with friction shell 36. The spring thus holds lthe straight part of the strap spaced from w'all 43and tends to move the latter in the clockwisefdirection as viewed in Fig. 3. Motion in this direction is limited by engagement of a stop nger 63 on the upper bearing 4| with bracket 35; see Fig. 5.

The parts are so set that the normally straight part of the strap will always be inclined toward the path of the picker stick and in the direction in which the stick is moved by the shuttle. The shuttle will occupy the full line position shown in Fig. 3 at the beginning of a picking stroke of the picker stick, andspring 40 will be under a stress tending to move the check toward the stick. Under theseconditions also the stop iinger 63 will be spaced from the'bracket as shown in full lines, Fig. 5. As the stick moves on its working stroke from the right of the position shown in Fig. 1 the spring will move the check to the dotted line position of Fig. 3, and stop nger 63 will engage bracket 35, see dotted lines,`Fig. 5. After the working stroke has been completed the spring will return the stick but will not be able to move it to its outermost position due to engagement of the stick with the strap. The stick will stop about as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3 with its outer rear edge in engagement with thev strap andthe .lattery will be straight,

web 31 and through a perpendicular to the latter and in a direction indicated byline b`. The base of the triangle of this force indicated at z-c, Fig. 6, represents the reaction force tending to stop onward movement of the' stick at the instant of impact with the straight strap due to movement of the shuttle. As the stick moves quickly to its outermost position the strap will be deformed as indicated in dotted lines in lFiggf before the weighted arm 38 due to' its inertia-can move.' Under these conditions the resultant of thelongitudinal and lateral forcesV acting on the stick will be as indicated by thedotted lined, Vthisy line approxi-` mately dividing the 'angler formed in the strap and suggested bythe dotted line. The base e-l-f of the correspondingv triangle lis' considerably longer than is line `rz-c,"indicating that `the re-v sisting` force" has increased.l By the time the stick has 'reached a position corresponding toe the arm 38 Will'have started Ato swing in a coun-v ter-clockwise direction aroundthe' screw 45 and will ultimately 'come to-'rest inthe dot and dash line position of `Fig. 6, 4in which vthe straight part ofthe strap passes'through'point e. The rei sultant ofv forces underthis last Inamed 'condition is indicated byf'line g forming atriangle the base of lwhich',indicated'at e'-"h; is 'much smaller than the bases vofeitherof 'the other two triangles.' This indicates that the'longitudinal force tend# ing to move 'the shuttle out of the boxis' much less when the' 'stick is in its outermost position than it is at'th'ebeginning ofthe checking operation. It will'also be seen that'th'isreduction in checking force istv preceded by a 'condition in which the vforce' isV greater thanv that existing at the start of the checking operation. Y i Thetriangles'indicated in Fig. 6 suggest tha a considerable lateral force-is'brought to bear on the stickv'whichQ-holds it against the flat surf face 34* shown in-I'Fig. 3, resulting in frictional dissipation oi some of the ener'gy'of the shuttle. This lateral force alsov undergoes yvariation as the picker stick s lidesalong the strap due to chang# ing stresses in the spring 4B. Thus, the full line triangle in Fig. 6' correspondsto'a condition' in which the spring is under least torsional strain and the resultant b will consequently be 'of min-4 imum value. When the strap assumes the dotted line position of Fig. 6 there is`an` increase in strap length between the arm 43 and the point of tangency with the; shell 36 Vwhich is accompanied by movenf'ien'tY oi" arm 56 and increases torsional strain in spring'40. This' increased spring strain causes the resultant'force 'd 'tov be somewhat longer than 'the resultant b.v When' the check Iinally comes to rest that part of the strap en: gaging the stick is again straight and there is a slight pull-back on the strap accompanied by la' lessening of the torsional strain of the spring. Due, however, to the angular movement of the arm 43 the sprin'g is likely 'to be under slightly more strain than is representedfby the resultant b, and' it is fori this reason that? the `line 1 -is E drawn fin `Fig. '6 longer fthan line 'b, 'ibut shorter ithanline 'There `is therefore :an `@increase sin the rlettered 'force as Well ras the lhorizontal 'force .during I*an intermediate stage iin the :checking foperation. When "the ishuttle:iszpick-edput of its box, however, there is no bending of the straight part of the strap andit-isnot necessaryffor the stick to overcome-.an increased.forcefduring the .fiirstgpart of the picking stroke as Would :be .thetcase .if Athe checking forces came .into Aplay in .reverse order at such time.

From'the foregoing it 4willlbe seen thatlI'zhave provided -a simple .form of picker stick #check fcomprisinga strap .inclined toward the @path of fthe picker :stick and .in the .direction in which it Iaisimoved .by the shuttle and tnormallyheld'tant fbetweenztwo points so that `ythe :strap man abend ihetween these two points before its Weighted carrier due to its inertia can move appreciably. Due to operation of the strap and arm 38 the force at the instant of impact steadily increases during deformation of the strap and then diminishes as the check arm 33 due to delayed response to forces acting on it reaches the full line position shown for instance in Fig, 3. This decrease of force very materially reduces any tendency which the picker stick check has tending to cause rebounding or unseating of the shuttle in the box I4.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not Wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a picker stick check for a loom having a lay and a picker stick moved in a given path along the lay by a shuttle, a flexible strap normally inclined toward said path and in the direction in Which the picker stick is moved by the shuttle at a given acute angle, a pivot supported by the lay, resilient means around said pivot, and an arm movable angularly on said pivot, one end of the strap being connected to the end of the arm remote from the pivot and the other end of the strap being connected to said resilient means, said stick normally engaging said strap and upon boxing of the shuttle causing bending of the strap relatively to said arm and the latter thereafter moving angularly about said pivot to cause said strap to be disposed at an acute angle to said path less than said given acute angle.

2. In a picker stick check for a loom having a lay and a picker stick moved in a given path along the lay by a shuttle, a pivot supported in fixed position on the lay, an arm swingable about said pivot, resilient means surrounding said pivot, a friction shell fixed With respect to said pivot and spaced therefrom, and a flexible strap secured to said resilient means and extending around said friction arm and connected to that end of the arm remote from the pivot, said strap being normally spaced from the arm and inclined at an acute angle to said path and toward said path in the direction in which the picker stick is moved along said path by the shuttle, the latter normally engaging said strap and upon movement thereof by the shuttle deflecting said strap relatively to said arm and the picker stick thereafter moving angularly about said pivot and causing the strap to be disposed relatively to said path at an acute angle less than the normal acute angle at which the strap is disposed to said path.

exerted by said strap on said stick along said path l *Inra picker mick-check (for :a -l'uom :having a lay and a picker stick moved "na .given epath falong 'ihe lay by fa shuttle` :a pivot :fixed with y'respectto the ilay, 7a fri'cti'on :shell "fixed -`with re- "spect `tolthe lay rand rspaced from the pivot, Aa `resilient means l.surrounding:said fpivot, Ian arm mounted ffor movement .fon #and about said pivot 'an'dhaving-the endfthereo'firemote'from the pivot curved 'itoward said fpa'th, 3and a 'flexible strap -seeuredto said l'end ofv the farm and extending 'around ssa'id -shell rrand attached Ato usaid resilient =means,said resilientmeans normally 'holding v:the istrapstraight *between said shell fand vsaid curved end-'rif 4"the arm and inclined toward said path #and inth'efdirectioniin whichthe picker stick'is imoved 'by the shuttle Tat :a given 'acuteiang'la lthe istick 7normallyengaging :said straight r`part o'f 4the 'strap fand 3'being'moved ftherea'long by the shuttle @when *the Vflatter iis boxed 'and causing deflection of the strap toward said arm, said arm thereafter moving angularly around said pivot to cause that part of the strap between the shell and the curved end of the arm to be again straight but disposed at an acute angle relatively to said path less than said given acute angle.

4. In a picker stick check for a loom having a lay and a picker stick moved in a given path along the lay by a shuttle, a Weighted member pivotally mounted with respect to the lay, resilient means supported by the lay, a flexible strap connected to said Weighted member and said resilient means and having a part thereof normally straight and spaced from said weighted member by said resilient means, and stop means normally holding said Weighted member and strap in such position that the straight part of said strap is inclined at a given acute angle to said path toward the latter and in the direction in which the picker stick is moved along said path by the shuttle, the picker stick being moved along said strap by a force derived from the shuttle and causing deflection of the strap toward said Weighted member and the latter thereafter moving angularly about said pivot and cooperating with the resilient means to cause that part of the strap engaging the picker stick to,be straight but disposed relatively to said path at an acute angle less than said given acute angle.

5. In a picker stick check for a loom having a lay and a picker stick moved in a given path and direction along the lay by a shuttle, a pivot fixed with respect to the lay, a weighted arm movable angularly about said pivot, resilient means supported by the lay, and a flexible strap connected at one end thereof to said resilient means and at the other end thereof to that part of the arm remote from said pivot, said strap normally being spaced from the arm and having that part thereof engaging the stick held straight by said resilient g means and inclined at a given acute angle to said j path toward the latter and in the direction in which the picker stick is moved by the shuttle, said strap and said arm cooper-ating during movement of the picker stick along said strap by a force derived from the shuttle to cause deection of the strap in such manner as to increase the reaction force of the strap on said stick in a direction along said path opposite to the direction in which the stick is moved by the shuttle, and said arm thereafter moving angularly about said pivot and causing the strapI to assume a position relatively to said path at an acute angle less than said given acute angle, whereby the reaction force 7 is less than the reaction force existing when said strap was denected.

6. In a, picker stick check for a loom having a lay and a picker stick moved in a. given path along the lay by a shuttle, a flexible picker stick checking strap, and means tending to hold said strap taut and normally maintaining a part thereof straight and inclined at a given acute angle to said path toward the latter and in the direction in which the picker stick is moved along said path by the shuttle, said means including a resilient member connected to one end of the strap and a Weighted arm connected to the other end of the strap and pivotally mounted with respect to the lay and having a part thereof spaced from 15 said strap, the picker stick when moved along said path deiiecting said strap toward said part of the vWeighted arm before the latter can move pivotally due to the inertia thereof, said Weighted arm 5 path less than said given acute angle.

JOSEPH J. HEMINGWAY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 10 me of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 544,467 Kilborn Aug. 13, 1895 553,516 Doyle Jan. 28, 1896 886,952 Cowan May 5, 1968 1,212,952 Hodgman Jan. 16, 1917 1,353,387 Eubanks Sept. 21, 1920 1,678,268 Northrop July 24, 1928 

